Yoshioka Futaba has a few reasons why she wants to "reset" her image and life as a new high-school student. Because she's cute and had a demure personality she was ostracized by her female friends in junior high, and because of a series of misunderstandings and mishaps, she couldn't get her feeling across to the one boy she has always liked, Tanaka Kou.

Now in high school, she is determined to be as unladylike as possible so that her friends won't be jealous of her. While living her life this way contentedly, she meets Tanaka-kun again, but he now goes under the name of Mabuchi Kou. He tells her that he felt the same way as she did when they were younger, but that they cannot go back. Will Futaba be able to continue her love that never even started from three years ago?

I don't really agree with those who say Sakisaka makes cliche manga.Cliche means doing something trite and unoriginal without bothering to make it make sense or be realistic...It's not necessarily "cliche", for example, to have the hero win, even if it has been done a million times. It CAN be cliche-- but just because it's been done doesn't make it cliche. There's room for freshness and originality even in the most standard plot devices, depending on how the mangaka portrays them.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that shoujo manga is awash in mangaka who use the standard plot devices in the most nauseatingly cliche ways imaginable.

But I don't think Sakisaka is one of them. I'll admit that the end of Strobe Edge started to veer into that territory... But in general I think her characters are rounded and real enough to make standard situations feel fresh. Ao Haru Ride is no exception.

Yes, Kou is a standard male lead--- but unlike thousands of similar male leads, he feels like slightly more than a cardboard pin-up, in terms of having his own personality that isn't entirely one-dimensional and his own life outside of being the target of the romantic attraction. And Futaba is a sympathetic female heroine who can actually make mistakes and take responsibility for her own actions. She's not thoughtlessly blushy or retardedly air-headed... She doesn't drive me up the wall, which says something, since so many shoujo heroines do. She's likable enough to carry the manga on her own sake.

So far, the female lead is well-rounded. She's strong but she doesn't know it; she puts on a cheerful, gutsy facade so she thinks she's actually cowardly. (But it takes strength to keep up a facade..) She hangs out with fake friends because she's afraid of being ostracized and left alone, but this soon changes.

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She realizes her mistakes and confronts her "friends" and even attempts to create a better classroom atmosphere for Makita, who most of the other girls dislike, which I thought was kind of her. Furthermore, she gathers the courage and initiative to volunteer as class representative because she wants to improve herself: "I want to start a change."

I can't help but admire that. Even if there's only 5 chapters out, I already like Futaba and I have high expectations for her. The male lead, Kou, is good (only 5 chapters have been released so far) -- not yet great, because I have yet to see other aspects of his character besides his current cold/distant/somewhat-caring? personality, but we know that he has other aspects from when he was younger (and it starts to show in chapter 5!). High expectations for him, too. Since the supporting cast is just starting to get fleshed out (Makita, Murao, Kou's teacher brother, that blonde-haired guy who seems to know Murao), I can't say anything definitive except that, once again, I have high expectations. (This IS the same woman who wrote Strobe Edge!)

Even though it's just started, I'm already anticipating each chapter. There's just this kind of 'feeling' that runs through Ao Haru Ride and Strobe Edge...it's hard to describe it, since it's so subtle, but there's a flow. There's also some high school cliches, yes, but like with Strobe Edge, it seems like it's going to be a heartfelt (and funny!) story nonetheless.

Edit: I think I've got it--why Sakisaka Io-san's characters seem endearing and charming. It's all in the gestures. And the facial expressions that catch me off-guard. For example,

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in Ao Haru Ride ch5, pg36, Futaba is saying to Kou, "I want to be like you, Kou. Why am I so incapable? It's so frustrating," with her head on the table, and Kou replies, "You shouldn't be," and sits down and puts his head on the table, mimicking her body language.

I don't know, this one scene seemed so...it made me smile because the imitation of body language shows that the characters are on the same wavelength...and synchronizing. And Futaba's thoughts about

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the nape of Kou's neck? That's an incredibly sensual detail. "The nape of Kou's neck makes me nostalgic. But he's talking to me as if he doesn't know me. Somehow, I feel like I want to cry. We didn't see each other for three years. I want to know everything about him. I wonder how he would take it if I told him?" And then she kisses the back of his head.

Darnit, this mangaka is just trying to melt my stone cold heart! It's little details like these that give this manga that sensitive, human quality. Sigh, excuse my over-analyzing.

Wonderful. I've only read the first three chapters or so, but the story is interesting and definitely not cliche. What struck me most about Sakisaka Io's works is that I can't really predict what will happen next, unlike other shoujos (i.e. if the lead guy blushes here, then next there should be a heartfelt confession, or if the heroine smiles at a certain angle, then the guy should move in for a kiss). Ao Haru Ride definitely lives up to Sakisaka's repute (Strobe Edge, for me). Every time a seemingly formulaic scene popped up (and I anticipated it), then the character would pleasantly surprise me by not going the route I had predicted. The characters can each hold their own, and this uniqueness shows in that I can't really pair up the heroine with any random guy other than the male lead. This might be going out of limb, but if I had to find a literary parallel, then Tanaka is to Futaba like Darcy is to Elizabeth, and vice versa. No substitutes. No generality. Just pure uniqueness. I recommend this for those who still have faith in shoujo manga despite being "seasoned" shoujo readers, and especially recommend this manga for those exhausted by school work (cough) and looking for a pleasant read that will satisfy but not make you cry every five pages.

I really liked this manga but the way it's going right now kind of puts me off.

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I really like Kou and I get the stupid decisions that he made but he was such an ass to Futaba and although I agree that he needs to regret his decision and that he needs to suffer from them, I still don't think this is the proper way to go.

For one, Futaba and Touma's relationship is really weird. I was really pissed off by the way Touma asked Futaba to be his girlfriend and the fact that Futaba actually agreed. I do see that Futaba is starting to see Touma in a more romantic light but honestly it feels more like she found a stray puppy and decided to keep it, so I'm pretty sure that even if they have an okay relationship right now, it won't work out in the long run. I can't fully agree that Touma is a nice guy because there are so many moments when he just feels so entitled to Futaba even when they weren't together that it got really annoying. He seems like a shallow, jealous prick whenever Kou's around and it's really stupid. I just feel like he's playing the nice guy act and it's just so annoying.

Also, I don't see that Futaba's really happy with Touma when she's constantly worried about Kou. Actually, entering that relationship is unfair for both of them because Touma knows that Futaba's not over Kou and even used this fact to convince her to be his girlfriend by telling her that he'll help her get over instead of giving her time to get over Kou without needing anyone, and Futaba knows that there's a huge chance that she'll end up hurting him, especially when she has no way of knowing whether she can develop feelings for Touma.

I really like this series, although I wouldn't call it my favorite. The art is fantastic and the characters are great too, except for Kou. I used to ship Kou and Futaba, but now he's just a jerk. He is very frustrating and honestly, he doesn't deserve Futaba. He's always leaving her hanging or rejecting her when all she does is try to help him. I think she is better off with Touma.

I'm probably just going to be repeating stuff that a lot of people have already mentioned, but that's because I feel the same way. This manga started out so good. I thought it was brilliant. The storyline isn't so much original, but the author's way of telling the story really brought the reader in, it was realistic, and it left the reader wanting more. Character motivation made sense, and like nekoichan said, the issues they were facing were believable.

And then it took a turn for the worse as the author introduced Narumi. It became heavily cliche, and the story telling got messier from there. There were chapters where things were advancing far too quick, it was so rushed like the author didn't think too much about it, throwing in all these regurgitated ideas one after the other, in the same chapter. Character was lost. Kou .. He feels very out of character right now (not all the time, of course, just every now and then). It doesn't even feel like character growth, it's plain OOC. I understand that Narumi plays an important role here for Kou to develop and see for himself how unhealthy her being in his life was. How he needs to move on. But as mentioned, there's WAY too much unnecessary drama. It's kind of suffocating.

I am severely disappointed, because I loved this manga so much. I looked forward to every update, I was on edge by the end of a chapter because 'no you can't stop it there!' It was one of my favourite shoujo romance's, which is why I am so upset with how this manga is coming to be. Also, I feel a lot of people agree with me on this, but I also don't want Kou and Futaba to be end game. While I do love Kou, a lot, his character really appeals to me (there is shit about him that I really do despise though, like, the fact he's kind of sexist. I know he probably means no harm, and that it's pure ignorance but still), I'm so weak against characters like Kou, but I want Futaba to end up with Touma. I feel this is best for all of them. The atmosphere of the story so far, makes me feel that if Kou and Futaba were to end up together, it'd be one emotionally toxic relationship. I don't know why I feel that way, but I do. That, and I admit I do want to see Kou suffer a bit more.

Of course, I am almost 100% sure that's not what we're gonna get. Touma, he feels like a tool used by the author to get Kou and Futaba together. His character is kind of really underdeveloped, and it doesn't seem the author has put too much thought into writing him either. So yeah. I don't feel this manga is going to regain it's brilliance any time soon.

I changed from 10 to 6 after reading Ch. 22-23.. This is going downhill. Disappointing. Irritating. And the plot's geting overrated as well.

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Why must that certain character be treated/described way more deeper and special? Why must the heroine be treated so badly when she did nothing but to help the hero? I don't get it. I really loved the story until the guy turns into a jerk in his maximum level

The mangaka seemed to be doing a lot of twists just so series dragged onto however long she wanted it to be which is annoying. I'm still giving it another shot though, then think through if I should drop it completely or not.

First, the art is fantastic and it perfectly suits the innocent shoujo/ drama style of manga. But i also love the plot itself! the characters have that sweet 'shy love' thing that everyone adores- but they also have lives outside the romance. And their lives are so REAL! Everyone can relate to Futaba's struggle to hide her real self just so she can avoid loneliness. And the troubles in Tanaka-kun's life that are starting to be hinted at seem to have great potential. Plus, I love how Sakisaka Io doesn't let the plot fall into the well beaten tracks of shoujo cliches but keeps the character's reactions realistic

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Like in ch1 when the two confess that they once liked each other, but instead of instantly starting to date like in most shoujos, Tanaka quickly points out that those feelings are old and hardly relate to the people that they are now

I've cried reading this. Not cause I'm sad that it's so bad, but because it's so touching :').Anyway, for most people, this isn't a cryin gmanga XD. It's just that, I'm in the same situation as the girl lead. C: And I was just surprised to see a manga with such a realistic character.

This manga is probably the most realistic one I've read. c: But it isn't CLOSE to boring! I LOVE IT SO MUCH. The main lead, Futaba, is an amazing person. She's kind, shy, doesn't like guys, and is actually a very strong character. c: The way she acts is similar to me, and I was so surprised when I read the first few chapters! I was like "HOLY CRAP I WOULD DO THAT. (and for some things, I HAVE done what she did xD)". She's just SO LOVEABLE.And then Tanaka-kun. C: He's also amazing!!! They're both so cute when younger >3<!I won't explain him older though. C: thats for you to find out ;}.!

ANyway.GREAT ART. I loveloveloveloveloveloveloveloveloveloveit! C:GREAT PLOT. The idea of the story is unique (people say it's cliche', o.o but it isnt. sure there's aspects in the manga that are "cliche" but I mean, in real life there are FRICKING TONS of that SHIZNIETS going on, MORE THAN IN MANGAS, so STOP COMPLAINING >:C )Great CHARACTERS. They're all so cool and real! I mean, I wouldn't be surprised to meet people really like them (I actually have met people similar to them xD)

And ya. All of those things put together make this great story, c: and I think it'd be very unfortunate for you to dislike this. It's fantastic, and you're missing out if you don't read this!

It was absolutely a treat until chapter 20. Right now, it's taken a melodramatic turn, and not a very convincing one. I'll update my opinion on this as the series goes on. Right now, I don't like the direction it's heading.